Free The Destroyer of Worlds by Jonathan Moeller Page A

don’t know.”
    Ally hesitated. “I don’t want to leave here. I really don’t. But I don’t know what we should do. I don’t even know what I want to do, anymore.” Had she ever really known? “We need to think about it.”
    “I agree,” said Conmager. “Such a great decision should not be made over a supper, however tasty.” Mary smiled. “But in any case, we should move soon. I have a number of safe houses scattered across the country, and we should not linger long at any one of them.”
    “Where are we going next?” said Allard. “Someplace warm, I hope.”
    “Minnesota.” Conmager finished his water and set down his glass. “A bit west of Duluth.” Allard groaned. 
    Mary looked at Ally. “Do you want any more to eat?”
    Ally shook her head, staring at her plate. “No, no thank you. It’s good…I’m just not very hungry.”
    They finished their meal in silence. Allard went to his guard shift. Mary cleared the plates and went into the kitchen. Conmager went to the barn to enchant more bullets. Ally paid them no heed, staring into nothing. Something scratched at the back of her mind, something important, but she could not bring the thought into focus. 
    “What is the matter?” said Arran. “And I mean besides the obvious, as you so often say.” Ally almost smiled. “Something is troubling you.”
    Ally shook her head. “I don’t know. I feel like we’re missing something important. Something that’s obvious, but we’re just not seeing.” A thought clicked into focus, and she sat up straighter. “What does Marugon want?”
    Arran shrugged. “Revenge, I suppose. Conquest, destruction. Rule over the High Kingdoms, or what remains of them.”
    Ally shook her head. “No, no. Why does he want those things?” She rubbed her temples. “Why?”
    “I know not,” said Arran. “He is a monster, I do not doubt. Why does such a man do anything? Who can understand his mind?”
    “We must,” said Ally. “It’s important, but I don’t know why.”
    “Go to sleep,” said Arran. “You need to rest.”
    “Yeah.” Ally nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Sleep.” She had not gotten much lately, between her nightmares and her growing relationship with Arran. “I’ll sleep.”
    But she still felt as if she had missed something of tremendous importance. 

    ###

    Wycliffe muttered under his breath, the Voice trembling with soft power. It sent out waves of indifference, of apathy, of quiet ignorance. The staffers and office workers glanced over him and the changeling and looked away. They showed no reaction to the sight of the changeling, its claws dragging over the carpet.
    Kurkov looked alarmed. “What are you doing?”
    Wycliffe shushed him and followed the changeling outside, across the loading yard, and to warehouse 13A. He swiped his card through the lock and the massive steel door hissed open. The changeling hurried inside, Wycliffe and Kurkov struggling to keep pace. The stacks of crates cast deep shadows over the warehouse. Wycliffe looked over the array of weapons and frowned. What was he going to do with all this stuff? Marugon had stopped sending caravans through the Tower. 
    “Slow down,” Wycliffe commanded. The changeling growled, but slowed its pace. “Now, downstairs. Take the stairs.” He was not sharing the elevator with the stinking creature. “Lord Marugon is likely in the library. I shall go first. Understand?” Wycliffe started down the stairs, the changeling and Kurkov behind him. He let himself into the bunker and strode down the corridor. 
    He felt the presence of black magic in the library, cold energy crackling through the air. 
    Wycliffe steeled himself and stepped into the library. Shadows lay thick over the floors. Marugon sat hunched over one of the reading tables, his fingers tracing designs in the air. A gleaming steel disk the size of a serving platter lay on the table, runes carved into its surface. Even as Wycliffe watched, one of them